Trump: Obama Calling Businessmen Lazy Is 'Disgusting'

Donald Trump says President Barack Obama’s recent statement that Americans have become lazy is “disgusting,” and somewhat ironic, considering the president spends his time campaigning and vacationing instead of tending to the nation’s business. The real estate mogul also told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren Tuesday Obama’s comment was especially “interesting” because of his lack of business acumen.

Van Susteren noted that Trump recently tweeted about “the habitual vacationer calling America lazy this past weekend while in Hawaii,” but Obama was at an economic summit, and she wondered whether Trump stood by his statement.

“Well, I do, indeed, when he’s using a 747 Boeing to go around — which is called Air Force One — to go around and campaign and raise funds,” Trump said, adding he realized Obama’s predecessors used the presidential jet for their travels, but “I've been watching this for a long time and I’ve never seen any president work like this — this is crazy. . . . He’s really campaigning and vacationing.

“It’s interesting that he calls people lazy — I mean, he’s done one business deal in his life — that was his house,” Trump said. “So it’s very interesting that he’s calling people lazy because he’s really referring to the business community, and they don’t give us the tools.

“When they allow China to manipulate their currency, when they allow other people and other countries to do what they’re doing against our country — you know, it would be nice if the government could give a little help,” he said. “But for him to call — and I said it the other day on, actually, one of your shows . . . for him to say that the business people of this country are lazy is disgusting.”

Switching gears, Van Susteren asked Trump — who earlier this year flirted with the possibility of a presidential run — his take on the current crop of GOP hopefuls.

“Well, it’s amazing because every day, it changes. Now, Newt — who’s a friend of mine — is doing very well,” Trump said. “Mitt Romney is doing very well — I mean, he’s doing very well — but he just doesn’t seem to get that extra little bounce that you would think he’d get.

“You could say he’s got a very solid base — I mean, he doesn’t move down, and that’s a big statement that you make,” he said. “He doesn’t move down — but you would think that he’d be bouncing like wild. He’s done great in the debates — he’s really done beautifully in every single debate.”

Trump noted that Romney’s lack of traction is probably due to the fact that the GOP base doesn’t see the former Massachusetts governor “as conservative as they’d like to see.”

“And yet, that’s a very smart game, potentially, because if he gets the nomination, he’s going to have a very good chance against Obama relative to other people that maybe are more conservative,” Trump said. “So he’s playing a very fine-line game — and it may be brilliant. We’ll let you know in about a year — right?”

Van Susteren then asked Trump why he believed Gingrich has recently polled so well, when several months ago many gave the former speaker’s campaign up for dead.

“Well, he’s got some very good conservative views, but I think maybe more than anything else, he really is a very good debater,” Trump said. “And you know I like him because he’s a member of my great golf club in Washington, D.C. — I love people that join my clubs.”

Donald Trump says President Barack Obama s recent statement that Americans have become lazy is disgusting, and somewhat ironic, considering the president spends his time campaigning and vacationing instead of tending to the nation s business. The real estate mogul also...